2 Things Wrong--Airbag Light and Fuel Overflow. Chrysler T & C

Maintenance/Repairs
1

2007 Chrysler Town and Country, 123k.

  1. It’s had an intermittent airbag light for a few weeks now. When it does come on, it stays on until the car is shut off. When I turn it back on, sometimes it comes on and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it comes on at startup and sometimes it comes on in the middle of driving. I took it into the shop when the light was off and the shop said whatever’s wrong with it, it wasn’t storing the code and to run it back in when the light is on.

  2. Since yesterday, the fuel has been overflowing at fill up. I get maybe a half gallon in and then it overflows. I can hear it glug-glugging in when I pull out the gas hose. The flap at the neck of the tank seems to have gone missing too.

Any idea how much all this might cost? Is it worth doing?

2

@Bullfinch
"Any idea how much all this might cost? Is it worth doing?"

Bull, you’ve seen how this can be difficult to diagnose in person, but online is even tougher.

I think you’ve got two unrelated problems here. They can be fairly minor problems (poor SRS connector contact and a bad EVAP fuel tank vent hose, for example) , but nobody will be able to estimate this without a proper diagnosis.

For the fuel filling issue, Chrysler put out TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) #14-001-09 REV.A (Hard To Fill With Fuel Or Fuel Nozzle Shuts Off Repeatedly) to help their technicians diagnose the problem accurately. Perhaps your mechanic can have a look.

Bull, I wouldn’t get ready to put the vehicle out to pasture, just yet.

CSA

3

If your fuel filler flap has gone missing it no doubt fell partway down inside the filler hose and is blocking it. Should be an easy fix.

4

I just snaked a grabber magnet down there and didn’t find anything…

5

Is your grabber magnet long enough to reach all the way to the tank? Also, it may be wedged sideways.

6

The airbag light might be a problem with the clockspring, in the steering column. There may be a TSB or extended warranty on this. It was a more frequent problem years ago in Chrysler Corp. vans.

allpar.com is a site devoted to FiatChrysler products, old and new. There is a discussion board specific to minivans and Pacifica. I have found help there for my 1999 Voyager and 2007 T&C.

7

"The airbag light might be a problem with the clockspring, in the steering column. There may be a TSB or extended warranty on this. It was a more frequent problem years ago in Chrysler Corp. vans."
Not on an 07 as far I can find. My older Caravan has a lifetime clock spring warranty.

However, I thought about a clock spring, but saw nothing to indicate that Mr./Ms. Bullfinch has other problems with other steering wheel mounted electronics as do the vehicles with compromised clocksprings.

A check for body (SRS) DTCs should make the search for the problem a little more straight forward.

CSA

8

I believe the clockspring recall/lifetime warranty applies to 1996-2000 Chrysler minivans.

I never had one fail to record a fault, I wonder if the shops scan tool is capable of communicating with the Airbag Control Module.

9

“I never had one fail to record a fault, I wonder if the shops scan tool is capable of communicating with the Airbag Control Module.”

Very true. I can pull ECM codes, but not ABS or SRS codes. A good scanner can get very specific codes for these systems.
CSA

10

some of the cheapo code readers and/or scanner may retrieve the code and the text will say “manufacturer specific code”

In other words . . . find out for yourself what the code actually means, and/or buy a more expensive tool

and the very cheapest ones won’t even retrieve some codes . . . yet the light is blatantly lit

11

When the airbag light is on, the horn works and the steering wheel mounted radio controls work fine.

And there seems to be an exhaust fume smell all around it when you turn the car off.

12

Here’s a new wrinkle. On the morning I posted originally, the fuel overran from 3 different gas stations. And at one a few days before that I assumed was from a malfunctioning gas pump. But just this morning, it took 15 gallons at full volume with no problems.

When I posted, it had been very cold for a few days. Could the cold do it? A piece of rock salt clogging up something that later got knocked loose?

13

Overfilling By Continuing To Pump In Gas After The Pump Clicks Off And Thereby Flooding The Charcoal Canister With Liquid Gasoline? When Enough Gasoline Evaporates… It’s Good To Go.
CSA

14

We don’t overfill it, though.

15

Apparently theses little valves get stuck. Sometimes blowing air through them gets them unstuck. Also, rubber in fill tube ca collapse and block fill.
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/brownjeff/2010-11-18_213607_1.gif

16

I was wondering if the missing metal flap at the neck of the gas tank was stuck and blocking it but worked loose. ?

17

The airbag light could be the clock-spring as mentioned above. It was so on our 2000, had the codes read at a local shop, called Chrysler, got case number and the dealer fixed it for free. Parts and labor should be less than $200 if not covered under warranty.